Plate straightening machine



Aug. 17, 1937. UNGERER Re. 20,475

PLATE STRAIGHTENING MACHINE Original Filed Aug. 51, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet1 Aug. 17, 1937. F. UNGERER 20,475

PLATE STRAIGHTENING MACHINE ori inal Filed Aug. 51, 19:54 2 Sheets-Sheet2 Reissued Aug. 17, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 20,475 PLATESTRAIGHTENING MACHINE Fritz Ungerer, Pforzheim-Brotzinger, GermanyOriginal No. 2,049,142, dated July 28, 1936, Serial No. 742,265, August31, 1934. Application for reissue October 17, 1936, Serial No. 106,259.In Germany September 14, 1933 Claims; (01. 153 -54)- This inventionrelates to an adjustable supporting device for the straightening rollsof plate straightening machines.

An object of this inventionis to provide ad 5 justable supportingrollers. along the straightening rolls for transmitting movement to saidstraightening rolls towards and away from the material to bestraightened.

Another object of this invention is to provide adjusting means for thesupporting rollers where- V by they can be brought into their supportingpothe straightening rolls but by more than two rows of supportingrollers situated as close as possible side by side along the row ofstraightening rolls.

A still further object of this invention is to cause the sheet being fedthrough the machine to deflect the straightening rolls into a workingcontour having waves of difiering transverse amplitude. y

In straightening sheets, the material is fed to the plate straighteningmachine at a rapid speed and it is necessary for the operator to observethe strains present in the oncoming plates to determine-what adjustmentis necessary to the straightening rolls and what points along thestraightening rolls require more ad- 5 justment to-bend or deflect thestrains present in the sheet, whereby a complete straightening of thesheet is accomplished. Various designs have been perfected in an effortto permit the operator of the plate straightening machine to adjust 'thestraightening rolls but, while they have been partially successful} theyhave not completely solved the problem because the. deflection curve ofthe straightening the individual plates being fed to the machine.

These and other advantages will become apparent as the disclosureproceeds, in which:

- Figure 1 shows, in front elevation, a plate straightening machine withsupporting rollers adjustable in rows; 4 t

Figure 2 shows, in front elevation, a row of supporting rollers,according to the first form of construction, with adjusting means;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view showing the effect of the adjustingmeans of the first form of construction;

Figure 5 shows, in front elevation, a straighteningmachine withsupporting rollers adapted to be adjustedin rows at an angle;

Figure 6 its, top plan of the adjusting means of the second form ofconstruction;

Figure'l shows, in front elevation, a bearing member for the supportingrollers withadjusting means;

Figure'8 is a side elevation of Figure'7;

Figure 9 is a cross-section through the straightening rolls withsupporting rollers;

Figure 10 is a diagrammatic view showing the effect of the adjustingmeans of the second form of construction; and

Figure 11 shows in side elevation a row of supporting rollers dividedinto sections with separate adjusting means for each section.

Uprights m are mounted on a box base a and upper and lower straighteningrolls b are journaled in these uprights. The" straightening rolls aresupported by supporting-rollers c and'd, the upper rollers 0 beingcarried, in any desired manner, in a yoke member- (not shown in thedrawings) so that they participate in the adjusting movements of saidyoke member. The lower rollers 41 are mounted in rows in bearing memberse1 resting on slide surfaces of the hearing feet "e (Figures 2 and 7).These bearing feet are mounted directly on screw spindles j, which canbe turned by means of worm-gearings g, g1 in the nuts it supported inthe box base a.

The worm-gearings g, 91 are driven by means of a shaft 0 which isrotated by a hand-wheel 01. Each worm-gearing y, 91 can be coupled withthe drivingshaft 0 independently of the others. For this a system oflevers k, m, n is provided for engaging and disengaging claw clutches2'. According to the direction in which the shaft 0 rotates, the screwspindles f coupled therewith are screwed-int0 or'out of the nuts h andconsequently the bearing feet e and hearing members e1 are lowered orraised. a

In, the example illustrated in Figures 1 to 4,

at the same time, a horizontal lowering or raising of a whole row ofsupporting rollers on every bearing foot e, as the bearing members e1 ofthe same row of supporting rollers rest. The effect of this form ofconstruction is, therefore, that any desired' row of supporting rollerscan be raised or lowered any desired distance independently of the otherrows of supporting rollers by engagingits associate clutch 1'. Thus, forexample, in the diagram of Figure 4, the first and fifth rows ofsupporting rollers, countedfrom the hand-wheelside of the machine, areraised relativeto the remaining rows of supporting rollers, resulting ina deflection of the row of straightening rolls in the shape indicated inan exaggerated manner. I

In the form of construction illustrated irr'Figures 5 to 10, the raisingand loweringof a .bear-. ingfoot e does not cause a horizontal but aonesided lowering or raising of one of the two outer or of thetwoimierrows of supporting rollers, as two bearing members e; of twoadjacent rows of suppo'rtingqollers always rest on the inner bearingfeet e. It is, therefore, possible to adjust in roof-shape or in patternshape every two adjacent rows of supporting rollers relative to the rowsof straightening rolls. Thus, for example, in the diagram shown inFigure 10, the

outer pairs of supporting rollers are always adjusted in roof-shape,thus, causing, during the straightening of a plate, a stretching of twolat,- eral longitudinal-sections.

The clutch controlling mechanism It for coupling the adjusting means Iseparately or jointiv with the common hand-wheel shafto isadvantageously arranged laterally on the machine frame a, or preferablynear the handle of the shaft 0. I

It is not necessary to act with one and the same adjusting meansupon awhole row of supporting rollers, but the rows of supporting rollers maybe subdivided and the parts thereof supported individually by separateadjusting means, as shown in Figure 11.x

Therefore, under the present-invention, it is possible to adjust thesupporting rollers collectively along the. straightening rolls or, iffound necessary, thesupporting rollers may be adjusted toward and awayfrom the straightening rolls independently of each other.- Furthermore,the rows may be adjusted in pairs with one of the ends of each pairhaving movement relative to the other ends of said pairs, whereby-saidsupporting rolls "have different lengths of travel in moving into theirsupporting position.

While I have shown and described specific embodiments of the invention,it will be understood that I do not wish tobe limited exactly thereto,since various modifications may be made without departing from the scopeof the invention as defined by the following claims. I claim: 1. In aplate and sheet straightening machine including straightening rollsthrough which the plates or sheets to be straightened pass, meansadapted to vary the horizontal plane of travel of the plates or sheetsthrough said machine comprising supporting roller units for saidstraightening rolls and means for positively and selec-' of travel ofthe plates, sheets and strips roller units simultaneously andindependently of the other supporting roller units, said means in--cluding a common operating shaft, gearing, and

clutches adapted to form a driving connection I between said gearing andsaid shaft.

2. In a roller leveler including horizontal straightening rolls,supporting rollers for said straightening rolls arranged in seriesextending parallel to the axis of said straightening rolls and adaptedto support said straightening rolls over substantially the entire lengthof said straightening rolls and means for vertically adjusting saidsupporting rollers-said means including mechanism for positively andselectively producing a. differential movement of the ends rows ofsupporting rollers, said means including mechanism to positively andselectively. produce a differential movement of the ends'of individualrows of supporting rollers.

4. In a roller leveler including straightening rolls, a plurality ofsupporting means arranged along said straightening rolls forsupporting'the same, mechanism for moving said supporting meansvertically. said mechanism including a.

part movable in one direction to lower. some of said supporting meansand to raise other of said supporting means and movable-inthe -opposite5. In a plate, sheet and strip straightening ma- 45 chine including aflurality of flexible straightening rolls, supports for the ends of saidstraightening rolls, means independent of the straightening rollpressure for varying the horizontal plane the machine at, at least threepoints across the transverse plane of the plate,'sheet or strip, saidmeans comprising a plurality of supporting rollers arranged along saidstraightening rolls with some of said supporting rollers positionedcentrally between the aforesaid supports for said straighten: ing rollsand other supporting rollers being ar ranged at each side of said firstmentioned supporting rollers to provide a substantially continue bussupport for said straightening rolls, from one through 59 a end supportto the other, means for moving said supp rting rollers vertically, saidmeans for moving said mpportinglrollcrs vertically being so constructedand arranged that working pressures of varying magnitude independent ofthe inherent pressure of said-straightening rolls may be selectivelyproduced atthe center of said straightening rolls and at each endthereof adjacent said supports to mix the straightening rolls out oftheir normal horizontal plane. FRITZ UNGERER.

